David Wright’s No. 5 is heading to the top of Citi Field as the New York Mets will retire his uniform number on July 19 prior to their game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Wright will become the 10th person in franchise history to receive the honor, joining Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Jerry Koosman, Keith Hernandez, Willie Mays, Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Casey Stengel, and Gil Hodges.
The 41-year-old played in 14 seasons with the Mets from 2004-2018 where a career that was on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory was derailed by a debilitating back injury that limited him to just 79 games across a four-year stretch from 2015-2018.
Regardless, Wright is the most successful all-around offensive talent in franchise history and its most notable non-pitching homegrown product. Drafted by the club in the first round (38th overall) in 2001, Wright holds Mets records in WAR (49.2), hits (1,777), runs scored (949), total bases (2,945), doubles (390), RBI (970), and walks (762).
His .296 career batting average is tied for third in team history, and his 242 home runs rank second. He was also a seven-time All-Star and won a pair of Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers.
All seven of those All-Star nods came in an eight-year span from 2006-2013. A four-year stretch from 2005-2008 saw him develop into one of the game’s very best third basemen, posting a .928 OPS while averaging 29 home runs and 112 RBI.
Wright was a key figure in the team’s 2006 NL East Division winning team which came one game away from a pennant. He appeared in one World Series, willing his way back from injury to hit a memorable home run in Game 3 of the Fall Classic in New York’s lone win against the Kansas City Royals.
Since owner Steve Cohen purchased the Mets, he has now given the green light to retire six of the 10 uniform numbers that will now be on display above the left-field corner at Citi Field.
